The whole world is facing rising temperatures as pollution from burning fossil fuels traps more and more heat in the atmosphere, according to an article in The Guardian. But Europe is warming almost twice as fast as other continents, with increasingly severe consequences. This summer alone, heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths.
But why is Europe more affected by global warming? The land is warming faster than the vast, deep oceans, so all continents are experiencing faster increases in temperature than the seas. But Europe is particularly exposed for four main reasons: changing weather patterns, its proximity to the Arctic, less snow and reduced air pollution. As a result, Europe is now about 2.5°C warmer than before the massive burning of fossil fuels, while the global increase is about 1.4°C.
Since the mid-1990s, temperatures in Europe have increased by about 0.56°C each decade, compared with 0.42°C in North America, 0.36°C in Africa and 0.27°C in South America.
WHAT ROLE DOES THE ARCTIC PLAY?
The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on the planet. Polar ice, which normally reflects most of the sun’s rays, is melting rapidly. As the ice disappears, the dark ocean surface is left exposed and absorbs much more heat. This leads to even more ice melting and creates a self-reinforcing cycle of warming. With a significant part of Europe relatively close to the Arctic, this factor also affects the pace of warming of the continent.
ALSO THE LACK OF SNOW IS ACCELERATED WARMING
In the past, much of Europe was regularly covered in snow during the winter. Like Arctic ice, snow reflects sunlight and helps keep temperatures lower. But climate change is reducing the area covered by snow. The area lost is roughly the size of France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria combined.
But how does reducing air pollution affect us? The reduction in air pollution in Europe is undoubtedly a positive development for people’s health. But cleaner air is also removing a “mask” that had until now partially mitigated the effect of greenhouse gases. Pollution particles can reflect sunlight or help form clouds, preventing some of the heat from reaching the Earth’s surface. When these particles are reduced, more radiation reaches the ground and the warming effect of greenhouse gases becomes more pronounced.
THE CONSEQUENCES ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE SERIOUS
Rapid warming is leading to more deaths from extreme temperatures, more intense fires and more severe droughts. At the same time, storms, extreme rainfall and floods are being intensified by the additional heat stored in the climate system. The consequences are affecting the lives and economies of millions of people across the continent and are expected to worsen until emissions reach net zero. The UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, summed up the situation in late July.
“The terrible costs of this climate crisis, both human and economic. They are already reaching the proportions of a national emergency.” According to him, the solution is clear: “Let’s move away from coal, oil and gas faster, expand the use of renewable energy and protect people.”